Letter: Very right, too much testing

Regarding "NY head of testing resigns" [News, Dec. 3], I was glad to read this. The plan to make tests longer, including nearly doubling the length of English language arts tests to more than four hours, was insane. Our obsession with standardized testing is ridiculous.

As a retired reading specialist and special educator, I've witnessed children's exhaustion as they read story after story and penciled in their answers on a separate answer sheet. I noticed one student was penciling in his answers more than he was reading. I asked him if he had read the story. He told me, "Mrs. R., I'm tired and the stories are so boring, I'm just guessing."

I later decided to read the test stories, and he was right. How many boring stories and questions does it take to estimate a child's reading level?

JoAnn Radesca, West Babylon